Blake, Abby - Suddenly Bear, Too (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Abby Blake

  Suddenly Bear, Too

  Ruby Rickardson has everything—or so most people think. The only daughter of ridiculously wealthy parents, she parties hard, she drinks a lot, and she has a tabloid reputation for being a wild child. Unfortunately, that image also makes her a target for every greedy lowlife on the planet.

  Nickolas, Levi, and Zeek Brockman are trying to live a quiet life. When they find a young woman suffering a drug overdose and dumped in the middle of the forest, they risk exposing their existence to save her. Yet saving her has a side effect—it makes her one of them—so discovering that she is mate to all three brothers is almost a welcome surprise.

  But a quiet life and massive media interest in Ruby’s disappearance simply don’t mix. And it sure doesn’t help that whoever tried to kill her wants to finish the job.

  Genre: Ménage a Trois/Quatre, Paranormal, Shape-shifter

  Length: 32,371 words

  SUDDENLY BEAR, TOO

  Abby Blake

  MENAGE EVERLASTING

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Ménage Everlasting

  SUDDENLY BEAR, TOO

  Copyright © 2012 by Abby Blake

  E-book ISBN: 1-61926-325-4

  First E-book Publication: January 2012

  Cover design by Les Byerley

  All art and logo copyright © 2012 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of Suddenly Bear, Too by Abby Blake from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Abby Blake’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Ms. Blake’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  SUDDENLY BEAR, TOO

  ABBY BLAKE

  Copyright © 2012

  Chapter One

  She was having that crazy dream again.

  The one where half a dozen snakes decide to climb all over her.

  Was it even normal for a city girl to have nightmares about snakes? She’d never even seen one up close, well, except in her dreams. Hell, if she weren’t used to their weird, dead-looking eyes and sinuous, slithery movements from her nocturnal imaginings, she’d probably be totally freaked out by now. Fortunately, the hangover she was nursing prevented any real reaction.

  She tried to wiggle so that she could grab the blankets and pull them over her head, but she couldn’t find them. She groaned. Blocking out that obscenely bright light was top priority. Had the sun gone nova or something? It should not have been this sunny in her bedroom.

  Moaning slightly as she moved on a mattress somehow hard enough to feel like solid dirt—would this nightmare never end?—she brushed away the imaginary dream snake that slithered too close to her face, and then tried to roll over. The sharp sting of fangs was so unexpected that she cried out. Her heart pounded wildly, fear overwhelming her even as she tried to convince herself that she was still just dreaming.

  She managed to pry her eyes open and look around. Unfortunately, she wasn’t in her bed. She wasn’t even in her bedroom, and as she tried to force herself to wake up and think rationally, Ruby finally noticed that she was lying in what seemed to be a ditch in the middle of nowhere.

  Struggling to comprehend what her brain was telling her, the final straw came when she noticed three black bears coming her way.

  She welcomed unconsciousness gratefully.

  * * * *

  Levi loved being a bear. Especially on mornings like this one. The start of the day was crisp and clear, peak tourist season was finally over and done, and it wasn’t yet bear-hunting season. Yes, days like today, Levi loved being a bear.

  That’s why it was so annoying to hear the shrill sound of a woman’s scream. They might have worked for the police department, but they were supposedly retired, and in his furry form it was going to be difficult to offer the woman any sort of reassurance or assistance.

  Well, she was going to get either his furry form or naked man. Considering that bears didn’t have to explain where their uniform was, he chose to stay on all fours.

  And besides, it was unlikely to be anything serious. The woman probably saw an extra-big bug, or something. Wasn’t that what women usually squealed over?

  He glanced at his brothers on either side of him and, despite his annoyance, turned to run in the woman’s direction.

  * * * *

  Nickolas ran beside his brothers, very aware that they might make the situation worse by arriving in bear form. But the woman’s scream had sounded so urgent that he couldn’t simply ignore it and go on with his morning. He at least needed to know that the woman was all right. His conscience wouldn’t let him do otherwise.

  He pushed himself harder to keep up with Levi. His brother may have made annoyed sounds as they turned toward the woman’s location, but it was obvious by his enthusiasm that he enjoyed getting involved. Levi loved nothing more than poking around humans when he was in furry form.

  His bear’s natural curiosity combined with his love of graphic novels pretty much ensured the guy had a hero complex a mile wide. Add that to his duties as a police officer, and it was pretty much guaranteed that Levi would be the first man, or in this case black bear, on the scene for just about every emergency.

  But as they entered the clearing slowly and got their first look at the woman, it was obvious that this wasn’
t a squeamish female faced with an oversize spider.

  Something was very, very wrong.

  * * * *

  Zeek’s first emotion was one of disgust. This woman was clearly not prepared for the rigors of camping this high in the wilderness. A skintight white leather skirt, gold-colored top made of some silky-looking material, and high-heeled stiletto shoes were simply not appropriate for hiking. Hell, her outfit was more suited to drinking and dancing at some exclusive nightclub.

  In fact, that seemed to be what she was dressed for. Her hair was tangled and messy, her makeup smudged under her eyes, and her jewelry ostentatious, but it seemed that drinking and dancing was exactly what she’d been doing. The faint whiff of alcohol reached his nose as they got closer. He sniffed the area, not scenting any other humans still in the vicinity, but turned away from his brothers to do a more thorough check.

  He felt a growing sense of panic coming from the woman as he and his brothers drew nearer, and was almost grateful when she passed out. Dealing with a stranded tourist was something they’d been trained to handle, albeit in human form, but dealing with a stranded, screaming tourist dressed for a night on the town was not Zeek’s idea of fun.

  He wasn’t really surprised when Levi turned back into human form and lifted the woman into his arms.

  “She has several snakebites,” he said urgently. Nickolas also returned to human form, then placed his hands on either side of her head and used his healing magic to ascertain her health. The look he gave Levi was not encouraging.

  Needing to question the wisdom of the choice his brothers were making, Zeek also turned back to human form.

  “Guys, even from here I can tell it will take too much magic to heal her. Let’s just get her back to the ranger’s station and call for an emergency evac.” He tried not to look at the woman’s face. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to help her. It was simply that the consequences would be too great and maybe put them all at risk. “Nick, you know what I’m saying is true. Humans have good-quality antivenin serums these days. If we get her to help fast enough, human medicine will save her.”

  “No it won’t,” Levi said, his tone one of barely suppressed anger. “She’s been drugged as well. Her internal organs are already shutting down. The snakebites are the least of her worries.” Zeek finally lifted his eyes to look at the woman’s pale face.

  “Somebody tried to murder her,” Nickolas added, “and I suspect they’ve left her here, hoping bears would eat the evidence.”

  Zeek felt sick to the stomach. Wild black bears rarely attacked. Most of their interaction with humans was limited to mock charges, blowing noises, and swatting the ground with their forepaws. Human encounters with a black bear rarely led to serious injury. But wild black bears were opportunistic feeders, often stealing prey from human hunters, so it was quite possible that whoever was trying to kill this woman might have succeeded if he and his brothers hadn’t been in the area.

  “So what do we do? You know the consequences of using that much magic.” Hell, he must have sounded like a complete asshole, but one of them needed to keep a level head. He wanted to help her as much as his brothers did, but they needed to protect their own species as well. Revealing the existence of shifters was not a decision to be taken lightly.

  Levi and Nickolas both gave him stubborn looks that meant they weren’t going to change their minds anytime soon. Even from six feet away, Zeek could feel the woman’s death approaching. Unwilling to let the woman die, he nodded once, resigned to the fact that his and his brothers’ carefree bachelor days were probably about to change irrevocably.

  * * * *

  Nickolas understood his youngest brother’s concerns and, quite frankly, shared them. If it had just been a couple of snakebites, he would have called for assistance, but thanks to the illegal drugs in the woman’s system they didn’t have that sort of time.

  It was literally now or never.

  Thankfully, Zeek agreed with them and stepped closer to help.

  Letting the magic of his bear wash over him, Nickolas drew on his brothers’ energies as well, sending their combined healing magic through the woman’s body. He smiled with satisfaction as he felt the damage to her internal organs reverse and the drugs disappear from her system.

  Surprisingly, he even welcomed the side effects the magic caused.

  “Zeek,” he said in a rough voice, mildly embarrassed by his physical reaction to this woman. She was a beautiful woman, but this was neither the time nor the place. “Head back home, grab some clothes and shoes for the three of us. It’s going to be a long hike back to the cabin.” Zeek nodded, shifted back into his bear form, and ran as fast as his big paws could carry him.

  * * * *

  Ruby woke without the headache. A little surprised to find herself in a soft bed, she nevertheless groaned and rolled over. Whatever time it was, it sure as eggs wasn’t time to get up. Yet the nightmare of the previous night interrupted her determination to go back to sleep.

  But it was the small movement from beside the bed that had her heart thumping hard against her ribs. Despite having grown up surrounded by servants, Ruby had never been comfortable having them in every corner of her home. When she’d moved to her own apartment a few years ago, she’d flat out refused to have any live-in staff.

  Her parents had been horrified at the idea of their precious little girl getting her hands dirty doing her own housework, so they’d hired a maid who came twice a week. They’d also insisted that she send all of her clothes out for cleaning and have her meals delivered. It had seemed a reasonable sort of compromise at the time. Even just this small amount of privacy was very welcome.

  Her mother still wasn’t happy that Ruby knew how to use a microwave, or even that she could locate the kitchen in her apartment, but had finally stopped nagging her about it. Maybe it was even time for Ruby to start on convincing her parents she needed a job, a real job. She was a figurehead representative of several charity foundations, but practically all of the work was done by other people. As usual everyone seemed more interested in how she looked rather than what went on in her head.

  She pried her eyes open to ask whoever had arrived to leave, but when her gaze landed on an unfamiliar room, filled with unfamiliar furniture, and a man as big as a mountain, Ruby screamed.

  The man winced at the shrill sound, frowned when it continued, and finally smiled as she ran out of breath. She’d already dragged in another great lungful of air, ready to start over, when he held up his hand and smiled.

  “It’s okay, honey. You’re safe here. We’re not going to hurt you.”

  “Who the fuck are you?” It was supposed to be a demanding question, but thanks to her overinflated lungs it came out more like a breathy request.

  “I’m Nickolas Brockman.”

  “You said ‘we.’ Who else is here?”

  “My brothers are in the kitchen making breakfast. You’re in our home.”

  Great. Fucking great. Her parents had warned her she’d be a target for every greedy son of a bitch who walked the planet, but she’d never quite believed she’d be abducted by some guy big enough to be Paul Bunyan. Trying not to give in to panic, Ruby decided to pry as much information out of her captor as she could. It would help at the kidnapping trial if she could remember details.

  “Where is your home?”

  From her vantage point on the bed, she could see a small window that seemed to show a lot of trees and a mountain in the distance. But she couldn’t really trust her eyes, could she? If they were clever kidnappers, they’d be certain to set up an illusion so she would think they were in the middle of a forest. Wouldn’t they? Or would they really just drag her into the middle of the forest and keep her prisoner until her parents paid the ransom?

  Unfortunately, the man with arms the size of tree trunks seemed disinclined to tell her where she was. He surprised her with his next question. “What’s your name?”

  “What the fuck?” she blurted out. “Why would you k
idnap me if you didn’t know who the fuck I was?”

  “Kidnap?” the man asked with what seemed to be an amused smile. “Sorry, honey, but we found you lying in a ditch about eight miles from here. You were dying from a drug overdose and had just been bitten by several pissed-off snakes.”

  “I was what? What the fuck does that mean? Drugs? Snakes? Ditches? Who the fuck are you?”

  He seemed just a little annoyed this time. Hell, maybe she should rethink her whole approach. If she was in the middle of a forest, surrounded by at least three men possibly all as big as this one, maybe it was a good time to play nice.

  “I…I mean…” Okay, playing nice with the crazy abductor wasn’t in her nature.

  “Holy shit,” a voice came from the doorway, the owner unfortunately confirming her theory about the brothers’ size, “you’re Ruby Rickardson.”

  “She’s who?” the brother who’d said his name was Nickolas asked in obvious surprise.

  “Ruby Rickardson,” the second brother said as he stepped into the room. “Her parents are seriously loaded. We’re talking billionaires, major billionaires, maybe even more than that. What’s more than a billionaire, darlin’?”

  The words “What the fuck?” were bouncing around in her head over and over, but this time they didn’t quite make it to her lips. Both men were looking at her expectantly—how the fuck would she know what was more than a billionaire?—so she shrugged in the hopes that they’d at least tell her why, or even how, she got here.